Micro1 Achieves $500M Valuation

Micro1, a three-year-old startup specialising in AI data solutions, is finalising a funding round that values the company at $500 million. This positions them as a growing competitor to Scale AI. Micro1 provides data labelling services to AI labs, capitalising on the increasing demand for high-quality, human-generated datasets crucial for training advanced AI systems.

Micro1 has developed an AI-powered recruitment engine, enabling AI labs to target specialised experts instead of relying on large pools of lower-wage labour. This approach has fuelled revenue growth, with the company reporting over $50 million in annualised revenue, up from $10 million earlier in the year, and projecting to exceed $100 million by September. Micro1 has benefitted from changes at Scale AI, including the departure of key clients like Google and OpenAI. Venture capital firms 01A and LG Technology Ventures are expected to participate in the funding round.

Micro1's focus on expert-driven data annotation addresses the increasing need for accuracy in AI model training, particularly in fields like medical imaging where precision is critical. The company's AI recruitment engine identifies and vets talent, matching specialists with specific AI training tasks. This strategy has enabled Micro1 to scale its operations and meet the growing demand for high-quality data in the AI sector.